A digital sticker that keeps track of tree diseases
North Carolina: American scientists have created a digital patch that sticks to any plant and monitors its health. It always reports that the plant is affected by diseases and heatstroke.
The invention was made by scientists at North Carolina State University. “We’ve developed a lightweight sensor that detects stress and disease in plants without damaging them,” said researcher Chung Shenwei. It actually notes the chemicals that are released from the plants.
One of the current methods of testing plant health is to cut a piece of plant and bring it to the laboratory. But it also reveals a condition and takes a lot of time.
This sticker currently stores data but will be able to send data automatically in the future via wireless. In this regard, a complete database of plant and crop diseases has also been compiled and the associated chemical emissions have also been identified.
The rectangular patch is 30 mm long and is made of elastic material. Its sensors are made of graphene and have silver nanotars on them. Each sensor is equipped with a number of chemicals that detect specific chemicals that come from plants. The gas emitted from each plant indicates which disease the plant is suffering from.
When it was planted on a tomato plant, it identified two types of disease: first, the apparent damage to the plant, and second, a disease caused by P. pneumoniae. But it took him three to four hours to diagnose the second disease.
Thus, with all its usefulness, this invention can play an important role in the care of crops.
